The South Australian Government, French company EasyMile and Transit Australia Group (TAG) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to advance autonomous vehicle (AV) manufacturing and technology in the state.
South Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment David Ridgeway signed the MOU, which sees EasyMile establish its ANZ headquarters in Adelaide.
The agreement also sees TAG establish a national operations centre for ongoing management of autonomous vehicles in the ANZ region.
“This agreement further cements our state’s position as the preferred location for development and deployment of autonomous mobility in the Asia Pacific region,” Mr. Ridgeway said.
“It’s likely to open further opportunities to connect businesses with our other sectors including defence, space and agri-business thereby increasing investment and trade opportunities across South Australia.”
Mr. Ridgeway said TAG’s autonomous electric buses will be built in Adelaide for both domestic and export markets.
Partnering with the City of Playford, with support of a $350,000 grant from the state government’s Future Mobility Lab Fund, EasyMile will begin testing its shuttles on local roads in the coming months.
The Playford Connect trial will be the first validation in South Australia of EasyMile’s autonomous vehicles and its technology platform.
Initially, the shuttle will transport passengers between the Lyell McEwin Hospital to the carpark and bus stops.
It will eventually be extended to provide a shuttle service around the perimeter of the Elizabeth shopping centre, linking people to existing bus and train hubs.
“South Australia is the perfect ‘test bed’ for our autonomous vehicle technology, and we’re keen to invest in skilling a new workforce and building on the state’s existing AV ecosystem,” EasyMile Chief Executive Gilbert Gagnaire said.
“Our vision for South Australia is to provide customer centric transport solutions to address public transport challenges, leading to the creation of a new industry for the state.”
TAG CEO Michael McGee said South Australia also had the opportunity to benefit from the emerging autonomous vehicle market.
“Through our partnership with EasyMile, the various trials across Australia and New Zealand will expand the local knowledge, skills and capabilities around driverless vehicle technology, operations and maintenance,” Mr. McGee said.
“South Australia has the opportunity to emerge as a leader in this new and exciting industry and we are already looking at opportunities to locally manufacture and assemble autonomous vehicles following a successful trial.”
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